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It seems that 'sailing' through windfarms is going to become unavoidable on occasion and not always in daylight on a fairweather jaunt so it's strange that on a failsafe principle the interior turbines are not lit for navigation.Determining a 50 metre clearance zone will not always make it so.Surely they can power the odd LED.

they all have diesel gen-sets on board to power the device that turns themselves into the wind direction

I quite often sail through wind farms both by day and night. I cannot see the point on adding distance to a trip by going round them. Although the inner turbines are unlit, I have always found they stand out in the gloom. There is no one out there with a tape measure so 50 meters can be give or take a bit. I find the biggest hazzard are the number fishing boats between the turbines.
Chris

removal of the Spaniard

The East Coast Pilot should not be surprised at the removal of the Spaniard Buoy.It lies pretty well on the South West extremity of the extension and as pointed out before the deeper route North South that it defined will now only be possible if you go through the farm.
If the developers hadn't got away with such a vague site plan and had plotted it on a detailed chart this would have been apparent from the outset.

Well, I am faintly surprised because it's the first I have heard of the buoy simply being removed! Nor, in fact, has the extension been 'approved' yet, as far as I know. Certainly the developers were still consulting locally very recently. I wonder if Trinity House have simply decided the buoy is not necessary any more.
As an occasional user of the route from the NW down the side of the existing farm area when I've come south near LW, I did put in an objection to the extension pointing out that this route would effectively be absorbed into it.
I will prod RYA SE again about this, I think.(Edit: and I have now done so.)